Late Summer Garden Update

[@davem5308]

Hey Erv., I watched your "empty nest", April video. I almost bought bags of top soil as well, same reason, "cheap", at Wallyworld, but I resisted. I have also been fully resisting the tyrannical mask wearing, so going into any store in my area, is a VERY unpleasant experience. I ended up spending a little more for a manure based product from home depot. Hit and run, at all the stores! My cukes did really well, still producing now at the coming end to August. Peppers took forever to flower and start producing, late bloomers. Tomatoes doing good, some splitting after a heavy rain, and other lite deformations. Lettuce was good in early summer, used in some salads. Now letting lettuce go to seed. First time trying Malabar spinach. Very hearty! Still trying to learn how to use it as a food source. Had some leaves in a salad. I grew one stalk of corn which is producing one ear of corn, surprisingly! I had more corn growing but critters dug the seed right out of the container! A neighbor gave me 4 cabbage starts, two red, two green. The green got hit by insects and were no longer viable. The red cabbage is balling up and surviving so far. We had a few pea plants going early, but they died off early and only produced enough pods for us to save for seed. Haven't quite figured out why they did not make it. All my plants are container plants. Learned a lot this year! Making mental notes for next season. I utilized one of those cheap 6'x 6' green houses that my neighbor gave me, and it worked great for bringing all my seedlings along. Watered each night, and closed down the zipper door, rolled up the door most every morning based on weather conditions. Bought another green house for next season, as the plastic frame connectors all cracked apart, on the neighbors older green house. I will mybe buy new connectors. My Mother, 84 years, has had her gardening going good and we have been comparing notes. She is canning, so I have been bringing some of my harvest, and canning jars, to her to fill! Mom's peppers and tomatoes are a very hearty harvest. She had deer and rabbits, etc. eating up some of her crops, and had to take measures to protect some plants. When the last of our tomatoes all come in, my girl friend will can the the balance of the harvest. Hated going in the stores to hunt down canning supplies, but we got our supply! Thank you for your videos. Kudos and positive Karma, for you, from Southern New Hampshire!

[@annarussell3751]

Looks great!! I am picking some green tomatoes, too. One plant of mine has an issue with blossom end rot, I think. I didn’t grow any watermelon, but I wanted a plant. Yours looks great. I didn’t have space, but I did try zucchini and planted them too close together, I think. I got several zucchini, but not all the plants produced. I think it was because of too much foliage, like you were mentioning on your tomatoes. I did try to remove some of the lower leaves. I’m still learning, but it was fun. I grew nasturtium last year. Yours is beautiful! I have never tried to propagate branches from my tomatoes. That is very cool! Thank you for the ideas!

[@ErvsGarden]

Tomatoes are so easy to propagate. They require no real effort other than sticking them in dirt. I took clippings of a tomato plant one time, and kept it going all winter long and planted it the next spring.